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Australia [email protected]

Looking to see if anyone knows I pollinated the pumpkin I grew this season with another one I lost to a virus would the virus transfer through the pollen and be in the seed as did this cross obviously for the seed I am going to plant some seed and just let them grow to see how they look

1/18/2025 4:43:29 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

What Virus do you believe you had?

1/19/2025 7:20:00 PM

Australia [email protected]

Dont know I put a picture in last seasons diary November 13 entry 46 the whole plant ended up getting tighter on the tips and bunching look with very small leaves

1/19/2025 8:42:26 PM

Grittyville, WA

I dont know, but its a good question... Viruses and diseases are clever. But then so are the plant's defences. ...I've wondered about bees spreading diseases and even catching diseases as part of their touching and moving stuff all day long. It seems possible, but also nature has had millions of years to figure out how to minimize this. I hope thats good for a non-answer.

1/19/2025 8:48:05 PM

Grittyville, WA

I looked at the photo. It could be a virus or other pathogen or even herbicide residue but it could also be a nutrient issue. I'd do some basic checks like overwatering, ph being off, fertilizer mix not as advertised on the package. Id ask myself did I dose something wrong, and I'd wonder are the roots and vines disease free? Also check for insects or insect bites just to cover all the bases.

An interesting thing about fertilizer here in the USA is I believe it is required by law to have "at least" the amount on the label... but they could screw up and dump a lot more of one micronutrient in and be like "well, at least it meets the minimum amount, so let's sell it anyways". Some days it feels good to transfer the blame to someone else, even though later on you'll probably realize it was your own mistake :)

[Last edit: 01/19/25 9:07:57 PM]

1/19/2025 9:05:34 PM

Australia [email protected]

From what I have googled it looks not viable its a shame as I wanted the cross but. I may try one away from the patch somewhere thanks everyone for the input

1/21/2025 2:54:00 PM

Bethlehem CT

I googled it too, and here is the response AI gave in case anyone is curious.
"Yes, viruses can be transferred through pollen in cucurbits, with Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) being a prominent example where pollen transmission is a potential route of infection, although aphids are typically the primary vector for its spread; this means that pollen from an infected cucurbit plant can carry the virus and potentially infect healthy plants when pollinators transfer it during pollination."
Good to know!

1/22/2025 8:33:38 AM

Grittyville, WA

The answers I get from AI are so sketchy. I'm ready to go back to the traditional search engine. Id take these AI's IQ's with a grain of NaCl.

1/22/2025 12:05:54 PM

Bethlehem CT

True... especially if A.I. catches the scent of something political.
I remember in High school my favorite teacher shocking the entire class when he said;
"It's not what you learn in school that is important, as a matter of fact, most of what you learn (in school) will be forgotten pretty quickly. The most important thing we can learn in school is that we learn how to get the information that we need. That we can have the confidence and knowledge on how to go about gleaning the information that we seek."

Now that we have A.I., we have fallen asleep at the wheel and we often assume that the information we get from A.I. is correct and unbiased. In todays world... perhaps more than ever, we need to know how to glean information and sort out what is true from what is not.

1/22/2025 12:58:00 PM

Australia [email protected]

Agreed john there are a few articles on Google which are confirming it will transfer with the pollen

1/22/2025 2:30:35 PM

Grittyville, WA

I did one search and one of my own dubious assertions (about phloem flow speed here on bp) came up in the search lol. Its a brave new world indeed.

1/22/2025 5:07:11 PM